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Lakers Fans Must Continue To Be Patient with D’Angelo Russell

By Ed Schrenzel

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As the Lakers have struggled to start the season, much criticism has been leveled at first-round pick D’Angelo Russell. 

Fans are disappointed that Russell hasn’t yet lived up to the hype associated with being the second pick in the NBA draft.

But imagine that you are 19 years old. You were a huge star in your chosen pursuit throughout your freshman year of college. Immediate opportunity knocked loud and clear, so there was no need to return for your sophomore year.

You get paid big bucks to work in a large association where you are assigned to a 15-man team. You are the youngest member of the team. Seven of your 14 teammates are or will soon be at least 10 years older than you.

The superstar of your team is a 37-year-old likely in the final year of a fabulous 20-year career. His work ethic is off the charts, and he demands the same effort from his teammates. For much of his career his team has revolved around him, and he craves the spotlight, especially in the biggest moments.

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When the star is resting, two other teammates are accustomed to taking over responsibility. They normally act on their own, often without assistance from anyone. And two of your other young teammates, both recent college stars, also have aspirations of greatness.

Your coach has an old school, hard-nosed attitude. He says he wants you to eventually take charge of the team, but he is reluctant to grant you much responsibility, and often asks you to do things in ways that are unfamiliar to you.

Expectations of you from management, teammates and public shareholders are sky-high. Yet if you were indeed that 19-year-old, how likely would it be that you would step in, immediately take charge and reach star status in your first month on the job?

This of course is precisely the situation that D’Angelo Russell finds himself in for the Lakers. He starred in his freshman year at Ohio State, and was almost universally regarded as the best available point guard in the draft at a time when big-man dominance in the NBA is seemingly at an all-time low.

He came onto a Lakers team that features, of course, Kobe Bryant. In every year he has been healthy since Shaquille O’Neal was traded in 2004, Kobe has led the team in points and assists… and ball domination. He’s labeled a shooting guard or small forward, but in actuality he’s been the de facto point guard.

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Veterans Lou Williams and Nick Young, usually the first wing players off the bench, are both high-volume shooters, typically creating their own shot rather than working off the ball.

Highly-regarded youngsters Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle are both trying hard to establish themselves. After Bryant went down with an injury last year, Clarkson was elevated to the starting lineup, and ended up playing mostly point guard. And he played it well enough to make the NBA All-Rookie first team. He will be a free agent after this season, so he is trying to prove how much he’s worth. Randle missed virtually his entire rookie year due to injury and is looking to live up to his own high expectations.

Lakers coach Bryon Scott hasn’t given Russell as much playing team as most coaches give to their high draft picks.  Until recently, he has left Russell on the bench for most or all of fourth quarters, apparently believing he will learn more from osmosis than from on-the-court experience. And the ‘Princeton Offense’ favored by Scott is not easy to for veterans to master, let alone 19-year-old rookies.

All of these circumstances do not exactly present an ideal situation for a first-year point guard to shine. Russell has rather predictably struggled at times, often looking uncertain and tentative. It isn’t easy to please shot-happy ‘give me the ball and get out of my way’ teammates like Bryant, Williams and Young, not to mention also giving Randle and Clarkson their opportunities, while at the same time doing whatever it is that Scott wants to earn playing time.

Through all this, in his first 12 games Russell averaged just over 10 points, 4 rebounds and nearly 3 assists a game, and shot 40% from the field in 25 minutes a game. Certainly these are not spectacular numbers, but not terrible enough for fans to conclude he is a flop. In fact, in the last few Lakers games, as Scott has kept Russell on the floor longer, his performance has visibly and statistically improved.

Nov 20, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D Angelo Russell (1) attempts a shot against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter at Staples Center. The Toronto Raptors won 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Point guard is almost certainly the toughest position for a rookie to play in the NBA. Post-up players typically have an easier transition.  Accordingly, first-year big men Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis (picked 1st, 3rd and 4th in the draft) have all recorded stronger offensive numbers. But fellow rookie PG Emmanuel Mudiay has posted similar stats to Russell (30 minutes, 12.5 PPG, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 33% FG percentage) on a Denver Nuggets team with fewer teammates who create their own shots.

Looking back a few years, in his rookie year with Oklahoma City, James Harden recorded these stats: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 40% FG percentage in 23 minutes a game. And of course we know how his career skyrocketed.

Obviously that doesn’t automatically mean that Russell’s career will emulate Harden’s. It just points out that a slow start doesn’t necessarily turn into a mediocre career.

So let’s wait awhile before we rush to judgment. Virtually all rookies, especially 19-year-olds, get better with experience… in all fields of endeavor. D’Angelo Russell will likely continue to show modest improvement this year.

Next: Lakers Road Back to Relevance: Who Stays, Who Goes?

Hopefully he will blossom into the player Lakers fans want him to be in the future. Only time will tell.

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